LEGO Ideas Aggregator, Analysis, & Advice...Plus other random cool things people are trying to make happen

Monday, November 26, 2012

Project of Note: Ambulance (Type 3 / Type III)

One of my favorite projects on Cuusoo is the Ambulance (Type 3 / Type III)by SpacySmoke. Sure I love all the giant, crazy, over the top sets too but this project is a ideal demonstration of compact elegant design with fully implemented playability.

The First and most obvious reason to appreciate this build is how accurately it recreates a Type III Ambulance.
That might sound a bit mundane but the most recent Lego ambulance, 4431, looks a bit like a generic van with a Hospital logo on it, in my opinion. For example, compare it to the Satellite Launch Pad van from 3366.

This build is unmistakably an ambulance though. An ungainly box shape strapped to the back of a van. The use of the cabinet, grilled bricks, and snotted tiles and plates add a lot of nuance to the build. The cheese wedges above the rear tires are a great touch. The brick based stripe of color going down the middle is a fantastic integration.

What really sells me on this project is the internals though.

The roof of this ambulance is anchored by three studs and can be removed easily to reveal a fully equipped vehicle. There are monitors, drawers, cabinets and instruments all over the the place and yet they appear to be logically situated for use, just like an actual ambulance.

This design not only accommodates all of these features but still has room for a stretcher, patient, EMT, and a worried companion.

To top off the long list of great features, this build uses an innovative design for the doors of the ambulance cabin. Instead of a simple hinge, the doors are connected via a pair of droid arms creating an effective double hinge system.

All in all this project is a fantastic fully featured design that I hope to someday add to my collection. If you like this project I recommend you also check out SpaceySmoke's Food Truck as well.

Its Chances?
Unfortunately this kind of build does not get a lot of support on Cuusoo. In fact, no service vehicle project has every gotten past 500 support. Currently this project accrues less than one support per day.

If it did reach 10k, well, there is very little chance that this would fail the brand fit or market review, as Lego has, as stated before, produced several ambulances. The largest issue would be their willingness to produce a project based on service vehicles, which tend to be its bread and butter in the "City" line. This scenario has not yet come to pass so it would be hard at this time to predict how the Lego Group would respond, but I would hope they would see this as effectively the "UCS" of minifig scale ambulances and produce it.

If you like this project then, by all means, support it. If you REALLY like this project then please support it beyond Cuusoo. This article has many options to help you get the word out!